Donghai City?
It's Donghai City again.
Yes, everything makes sense now.
Chen Huaishuo closed the top-secret file and began a brainstorming session.
If I'm not mistaken, the mysterious powerhouse codenad "Ever-Changing Star Lord," the peerless hero who single-handedly stirred up the storm and rewrote the course of the war, should be Zhou Huai, ntioned in the swordsman's last words.
SSS-rank puppeteer.
The file ends with a summary written by Marshal Zhao Qingcang himself, the handwriting strong and resolute.
"This child is extrely important to our Great Xia, and urgently needs the life-saving pendulum to extend his life."
"We must ensure its safety."
Seeing this, Chen Huaishuo understood the agreent between Marshal Zhao and that ever-changing star lord.
Zhou Huai, the SSS-level powerhouse with extraordinary abilities, knew his days were numbered.
So he made a huge gamble with Marshal Zhao, a life-for-life deal. If he could lead his clone squad to retrieve the Pendulum of Life and thwart the Sakura Kingdom's conspiracy, Marshal Zhao would use this divine artifact to defy fate and grant him a second chance at life.
This is the fundantal reason why Marshal Zhao was willing to sacrifice himself to hold off Qin Zeduo. He was not only creating an opportunity for the main force, but also striving for that one in ten thousand chance for this last hope of Great Xia!
But... is it really possible to do that?
Chen Huaishuo felt heavy-hearted.
It's important to know that in order to revive their SSS-rank ancestor, Kujo Naruya, Kujo Hiroharu sacrificed the lives of more than 20 million people in the entire city of Tokyo!
If Zhou Huai is also an SSS-level professional, then the life energy required to revive him, and the number of humans to be sacrificed, would probably be even greater.
That is definitely not a price that the Great Xia Dynasty can afford now.
Could it be... that Marshal Zhao has another trick up his sleeve? Or perhaps, there's a secret to the use of this pendulum of life that they don't know about?
Chen Huaishuo paced back and forth in the command room, deep in thought. In the end, he decided that no matter what, he had to go to Donghai City in person.
As far as the public is concerned, this is Marshal Zhao's dying wish, a matter of paramount importance concerning the fate of the Great Xia nation.
Personally, he wanted to see for himself what this hero, who perford divine deeds with a mortal body, really looked like.
The situation in Sakura Country is extrely turbulent, and it's already in complete chaos without the Great Xia military even needing to intervene.
With the entire city of Tokyo destroyed by the sacrifice, the culprit, Kujo Hiroharu, disappeared without a trace, and along with him, only one of the core mbers of the Kujo family, Okimon Komo, remained.
This led to a widespread uprising by various factions in Sakura Country, both large and small, who launched a fierce counterattack against the Kujo family. In particular, the remnants of the Omiya family ignited the flas of resistance in almost every city in Sakura Country.
The Xia army can take this opportunity to rest and recuperate, watch from the sidelines, and reap the benefits.
Chen Huaishuo handed over the temporary command of the front line to veteran Qi Zhenyun.
He personally carried the enormous life pendulum and the mysterious seal onto the warship returning to Great Xia.
Three days later, a military SUV with a special license plate sped along the highway leading to Donghai City.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was solemn.
Intelligence Minister Wei Liao handed a newly compiled file to Chen Huaishuo and began to introduce it with a solemn expression.
"Old Chen, according to our latest intelligence and an ergency investigation of the household registration information in Donghai City, there are not many people nad 'Zhou Huai' who et the criteria. Among them, there are only two who are most likely to be the case."
He took out two photos from the file and placed them side by side in front of Chen Huaishuo.
“Look, this Zhou Huai is seventy-two years old this year. He is single, has no children, and has been living on the official relief funds of Donghai City. According to the neighbors, he has always been in poor health and has been bedridden for many years. He does indeed fit the image of ‘not long for death’ ntioned in the information.”
Chen Huaishuo glanced at the photo of the old man with wrinkles and cloudy eyes, then looked away and asked in a deep voice, "What about the other one?"
His intuition told him that sothing was wrong.
Wei Liao also preferred the second candidate. He put away the old man's photo and picked up another photo, which showed a young man with delicate features but a sickly pale complexion.
“The other one is him.” Wei Liao’s tone was complicated. “He is said to be the son of the third son of the Zhou family in Donghai City. A few years ago, he suffered a vicious attack on the Zhou family and beca a paralyzed person. Although he successfully changed his profession after that, he was only a useless E-level clone master. He was soon ruthlessly kicked out of the house by his greedy stepmother.”
"However, it can also be considered a blessing in disguise," Wei Liao added. "Before the beast tide arrived, the Zhou family was mysteriously wiped out overnight, with no core mbers surviving. He happened to have already left the Zhou family, so he escaped the calamity and still lives in a villa left by his mother."
E-level professional? Paralyzed?
Chen Huaishuo frowned slightly.
After reviewing their information, he realized that neither of them t his expectations of that peerless hero.
An elderly, widowed man nearing the end of his life, and a disabled but determined young man.
Is this really the ever-changing Star Lord who can rival the gods?
He fell into deep thought.
Two seconds later, Chen Huaishuo's finger landed on the photo of the young man.
"Let's go check on him first."
"I understand!" Wei Liao nodded emphatically and issued new instructions to the driver through the internal communicator.
The SUV drove straight in, entering the territory of Donghai City, and headed towards the villa marked on the map.
The surrounding scenery gradually changed from bustling and noisy to quiet and serene.
Just as the SUV was less than 100 ters from the villa, the driver slamd on the brakes, and the vehicle ca to a stop with a screeching sound.
"What's going on?" Wei Liao asked, frowning.
"Reporting, sir!" the driver's voice cried out in surprise and doubt. "We can't get any further! There's an invisible wall!"
An invisible wall?
Chen Huaishuo and Wei Liao exchanged a glance, then got out of the car.
As soon as I got out of the car, an invisible pressure hit .
A very faint halo of light swirled in the air before them, almost imperceptible without close inspection. But Chen Huaishuo was no ordinary man; his pupils contracted at a single glance.
The mont his fingertips touched the air in front of him, an energy barrier composed of countless mysterious runes lit up, rippling outwards. An overwhelming force rebounded from his fingertips, causing even this battle-hardened old general to grunt and take a half-step back.
"This is... a high-level defensive formation!" Wei Liao exclaid in disbelief.
This barrier...
Chen Huaishuo's pupils suddenly contracted, and a terrifying glint flashed in his cloudy old eyes.
As a seasoned veteran, he had seen countless array formations and barriers, from city-level defensive arrays built by the military at great expense to clan-protecting arrays treasured by various aristocratic families, all of which were profound and complex.
But the barrier in front of him gave him a completely different feeling.
It appears to be just a thin, almost transparent curtain of light that slightly distorts the air under sunlight, making it difficult to detect its existence without careful observation.
However, when Chen Huaishuo tentatively extended his spiritual power over there, it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, instantly swallowed up without a trace by a vast, boundless, ancient and vicissitudes-like power.
The feeling wasn't like hitting a wall, but more like falling into a bottomless starry sky.
"What... what level of formation is this?"
Wei Liao, who was standing to the side, took a deep breath.
"At least level seven or above"
"Level 7 or above?"
Chen Huaishuo was deeply shocked.
Why would a place where a paralyzed young man lives have this level of security?
There is only one answer.
"It seems we've found the right place." Chen Huaishuo withdrew his gaze, his voice low but carrying an barely suppressed excitent.
The last lingering doubt in his mind vanished the mont he saw the barrier.
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